I am so happily delighted with Ruby Lang's writing. It's the thing that grabbed me so tightly as I read Playing House. That and her ability to craft such a darling love story in such a short book. I delighted in Oliver and Fay's adventures as city planners who went on open house calls to check out apartments in New York. The writing is rich and the details were fabulous. I definitely demand more of Ruby Lang's gorgeous prose.

Playing House follows Oliver and Fay, two people who have occasionally crossed paths as they’re both in the real estate business, but never became anything more than acquaintances. Fast forward to an unexpected (re-)meet cute when Fay pretends Oliver is her boyfriend to escape a man’s overeager approach at an open house. Both Fay and Oliver are in a kind of limbo when they meet – Fay is newly divorced and facing the anxiety of living without a partner, and Oliver is between jobs, desperate to get off his brother’s couch and back into business. Essentially, both are looking for that missing puzzle piece to be happy again. From their meet cute on, they embark on a journey of staking out open houses pretending to be a couple to making out in gorgeous closets and finding love once more.

Quite like the characters, the story feels incomplete. Playing House reminded me of classic Hallmark Christmas movies – a bit cute, a bit bland, and ultimately forgettable. There is nothing wrong with this story – but there isn’t anything quite right, either. Both main characters could have done with some more development. There is a lot missing – more background, more emotions, more personality.

While I am aware that this is only a 30,000 words story, I feel like those words could have been put to better use. There is enough time to describe the homes Fay and Oliver visit in mind-numbingly detail, ranging from the curtains to the chandeliers, but no elaborating on the character’s looks or personalities which left me a bit unsettled. The same goes for the dual POV that was almost indistinguishable.

A huge plus point for this book, though, is its representation – both main characters are Chinese-American and the supporting cast is incredibly diverse. They may not be dynamic, but at least they’re diverse.

I’m struggling to find more to say about this quick read. Unfortunately, the characters and storyline were unremarkable but it did make for a nice palate cleanser. Also, how stunning is this cover? This new wave of cartoony covers for romances is taking my heart by storm!

All in all, this was a nice read with little substance but a happily ever after – if you’re looking for a quick read and some guaranteed happiness (or you just need a fix until the cheesy Christmas movies that we all hate to love and love to hate start up again), Playing House just might be right up your alley!

Playing House by Ruby Lang is a wonderful contemporary romance novella. I love that it's set in New York and features two thirty-something characters navigating a very touching 'will they / won't they' relationship.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this. I felt no attachment to either of the main characters, at all. It was a quick and easy read and I was thankful for that. It felt like there wasn't enough time for Fay and Oliver to even feel like they were into eachother. There was no tension or chemistry between the two of them. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

A short and sweet romance that definitely made me giggle. Unflappable Fay and sweet Oliver get in the habit of house hunting...without any intention of buying the houses. As they sneak around closets and admire the architecture, they realize that their "fake" romance may have more heat than a Harlem summer.

This book was very cute and I loved the main female character. Her independence and drive were relatable and I liked that she spoke her mind.

Oliver and Fay both work in a very niche area of real estate and development. The two have crossed paths many times before, but have never really become friends. Now that Fay is recently divorced, she looks at Oliver differently than before, and sees possibilities. The two start spending time together, but a secret looms between them that could force them apart.
Fay is finding herself post-divorce, realizing what went wrong in her last relationship as well as learning what she wants from her future. Oliver is also in limbo as he tries to find out what he really wants from his career.
The two reconnect in a very meet-cute way, when she pretends he's her boyfriend to escape an overeager man at an open house. From there, their shared interests keep them together.
The book just felt incomplete to me. It was very surface and didn't develop the characters enough. I think the story itself was good, but I didn't find myself compelled to get back to this book immediately. The central conflict wasn't really that dramatic as well. An okay read, but not something that will stick with me.

I enjoyed Playing House by Ruby Lang. A contemporary romance set in New York City where two city planners have a career in common and are both recovering from difficult times. Oliver Huang is unemployed and feeling like he's not living up to his potential while Fay Liu has recently divorced and is still living with the moving boxes. The two meet up inadvertently but beginning a relationship wasn't what they were planning on. It's a sweet and fun story about two people getting over, moving forward, and figuring things out.

* thank you netgalley and carina press for sending me this book for an honest review.*

We follow Fay and Oliver who both live in New York City and work in the same field. Fay is the owner of a company Oliver put up his resume for. Things get kind of close and personal when Oliver runs into Fay at an apartment showing and has to pretend to be her boyfriend. Things get a little steamy between them after that. They keep meeting for apartment showings and pretending to be together, which forms a really big attraction towards each other.

This was such a good and quick read. I loved how fast paced it was and even if it was just a little over a 100 pages I was still able to get into the loved of the characters. I love that it was based in NYC which is where I’m from so I’m familiar with a lot of the neighborhoods they toured. I really enjoyed the relationship dynamic but in romance novels I always feel like everything can be solved if they just communicated with each other. There’s always a communication problem within the characters that can lead to everything being resolved quickly. Which is why I took a star away.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next books in this romance series.

Fay and Oliver are an absolute delight in this book. A premise I haven't seen with unique professions and a strong group of characters. I absolutely loved it!

A short and entertaining read.

Oliver and Fay have known each other for years. A chance meeting when they are out looking at houses leads to them spending more time together. They are starting to fall for each other, but what will happen when Fay finds that Oliver has kept a secret of the fact he applied for a job at the firm she part owns?

This was absolutely charming and fun -- but it also contained very little plot, nor did I believe that the characters had much chemistry. I really, really like Ruby Lang's writing and am interested in seeking out other titles by her, but this one fell a little short for me -- as romance novellas almost always do. I would have loved to have seen this as a full-length novel with greater emotional depth.

Playing House is a short but really enjoyable read. Oliver and Fay are both city planners in New York going through upheaval in their personal lives - Oliver has lost his job and Fay has gotten divorced. After running into each other at a house tour they start spending more time together. (I think from the description I thought there'd be a bigger fake relationship element in this book, but that's not really the focus.) Anyway, Fay and Oliver are both great characters - I especially liked the way Oliver has to work through his family's (and his own) expectations in regards to his career. And I always love reading about women in their mid-30s who are smart, driven, and competent (without having it all together) - and Fay really fits the bill. The book moves quickly since it's so short, but their relationship built nicely. I do think I would have liked a longer book, with more fleshed out story, but I really enjoyed this one, and as it's the first in a series I'm looking forward to the next as well. Hoping the third is about Oliver's brother Nat!

The pros: engaging, interesting characters (both the main characters and the secondary characters) with vivid personalities, a lively view of different New York neighborhoods, and (best of all) SO MUCH REAL ESTATE P*RN (I love viewing houses and apartments and envisioning myself living in them and these characters do a lot of that).

Where the novella left me hanging a bit was the ending. I get that the conflict was fairly easily resolved, but the ending felt rushed and unfinished. I would have liked to see a more fleshed-out resolution between these two characters.

I was given an Advance Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ruby Lang is one of my favorite new (to me) authors. I have been waiting impatiently for her new book, Playing House, and was delighted to find that it was on NetGalley. I was even more delighted when it showed up in my in box. This is an honest review.

Oliver Huang and Fay Liu have known each other for years, their friends know each other, and they are in the same profession – urban planning. Their acquaintance never turned romantic because Fay was in a long term relationship. They run into each other on a house tour and, for reasons, pretend to be a couple. Fay is fairly recently divorced and Oliver considers himself unemployed. Pretending to be a couple, Ollie and Darling, in order to look at real estate becomes their excuse for spending time together. Eventually, they have to decide whether to be Oliver and Fay and try to build a real, serious relationship.

I love real estate porn. It’s my second favorite porn after food porn. I enjoyed the time that Fay and Oliver spent looking at houses and appreciating architectural details and neighborhood development. It was a comfortable place to be, but it wasn’t entirely real. Oliver and Fay have real difficulties in their lives that they need to address. Lang’s characters are so sympathetic that the way they fumble the conversations they need to have feels relatable. They (particularly Oliver) make mistakes, but no one is an asshole.

I love Ruby Lang’s writing, her characters, and her stories. She captures those moments where a character’s thoughts and feelings coalesce. She adds up those moments where Oliver and Fay recognize what they like about the other, what they like about themselves when they are together, and what they need to do to move from fantasy to reality. I love how much they like and appreciate each other exactly as they are. They take responsibility for any fixing they need to do in their own lives. When they do come to agreement on their relationship, I felt like they belonged in that moment and would be happy together forever after.

I was sad when Playing House came to an end, and I desperately want to be able to dive into the next book. I hope we get more Oliver and Fay in the future, or maybe Lang will write a mystery series where Ollie and Darling solve mysteries and plan neighborhood revitalizations. I would read that.

Fay and Oliver fall in lust --and maybe even love-- when a chance encounter puts these two old schoolmates back on each other's radar at a historic homes tour.

Playing House has the emotion that is necessary to classify it as a romance, but there is so very little plot. It's not dissimilar from a "coffeehouse" au fanfic, just substitute urban planners for cafe owner/workers. That's how much plot there is. However, the disappointing bit is that it's so much mulling over which direction/decision a character will make that the emotional connection is more boring than captivating.

Lang should have saved this story for a nice au that would have gotten lots of love in the right fan community.